NASA Education Team Seek to Copy UK School Technology Initiative

Originally published 19 March 2004

NASA's education team are seeking to copy a successful UK schools technology project that puts powerful industry standard engineering computer aided design software in the hands of teachers and school pupils. On Monday and Tuesday March 22nd and 23rd Senior NASA officials will be visiting the UK to specifically view the UK Schools CAD/CAM Initiative.

The NASA team will see the project in action in a visit to John Cabot City Technical College in Bristol at 10am on Monday 22nd and to the Archbishop Michael Ramsey City Technical College, in Camberwell in SE London on March 23rd - also at 10am.

At both these schools they will see work of the pupils and the impact the UK "CAD/CAM Initiative" has had on Design and Technology Education.

The CAD/CAM Initiative that has delivered this software to thousands of schools was a partnership between the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick, Parametric Technology, and the Design and Technology Association (DATA: the Association of school D&T teachers), supported by the DFES.

Professor Sir Kumar Bhattacharyya Director of the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick said:

“I am very pleased that NASA’s education team have taken such a keen interest in the Schools CAD/CAM Initiative. It is great to know that schools in the UK are ahead of the US in Design and Technology education. It will be wonderful to see a UK technology and education initiative replicated in US schools. It has been a real surprise for the NASA team to find that there are more pupils in UK schools doing 3D solid modelling than in all the schools, offices, colleges and universities in the rest of the world put together, especially when this Initiative has been so well supported by a US company.”

Jenny Jupe the Chief executive of DATA said:

“This is a real pat on the back for D&T teachers in UK schools who have worked hard and successfully modernised the curriculum. They will be delighted to receive support from such a prestigious body as NASA.”

On Wednesday the delegation from NASA will be meeting with DFES officials in London to gain an insight into how the programme has been implemented so quickly and so successfully.